Eight books that feature wine

Rochelle Dowden-Lord is a writer from south London.

Lush is her first novel.

At Lit Hub the author tagged eight "books that I read for the purpose of writing Lush, and others are simply favorites with wine as a theme or delight within the pages." One title on Dowden-Lord's list:

Peter Hellman, In Vino Duplicitas: The Rise and Fall of a Wine Forager Extraordinaire

In this book Hellman investigates the real-life counterfeiting scandal that shook the wine world in the noughties. The fraudster Rudy Kurniawan was young, audacious and swindled people for millions. It’s a fun romp that explores the frankly ridiculous price tag that comes with a prestigious bottle of wine, and cemented my belief that the wine industry thrives on charm and perceived intimacy, rather than entirely the taste of wine itself.

It also influenced Lush in the way that Kurniawan was immediately othered due to being “the rare Asian among older white males.” I wonder if all those people would have been swindled if he hadn’t already been othered by them; if his race hadn’t made him, to them (like his “wealth” and his dealings) impossible to completely comprehend.

Read about another entry on the list.

Also see Jay McInerney's eight top novels for the literate oenophile, John Mullan's ten best wines in literature, and Jamie Ivey's top 10 books about wine.

--Marshal Zeringue